Mechanical miner having offset rotary heads



April 11, 1961 E. L. ANDERSON MECHANICAL MINER HAVING OFFSET ROTARYHEADS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1A Filed Aug. 7, 1958 /3 INVENTOR. Edward L.Anderson ATTORNE V April 11, 1961 E. L. ANDERSON 2,979,319

MECHANICAL MINER HAVING OFFSET ROTARY HEADS Filed Aug. '7, 1958 4Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Edward L. Anderson Q MW April 11, 1961 E. L.. ANDERSON MECHANICAL MINERHAVING OFFSET ROTARY HEADS Filed Aug. 7, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR.Edward L. Anderson TTORNV April 11, 1951 E. ANDERSON 2,979,319

MECHANICAL MINER HAVING OFFSET ROTARY HEADS Filed Aug. 7, 1958 4Sheets-Sheet 4 Fig. 9

Fig. 7

INVENT OR.

Edward L. Ander-'son u) BY United States Patent() MECHANICAL MINERHAVING OFFSET RorARY HEADS Edward L. Anderson, Chicago, lll., assignerto Goodman Manufacturing Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation ofIllinois Filed Aug; 7, 1958, Ser. No. 753,763

1S Claims. (Cl. 262-19) This invention relates generally to mining andloading machines and particularly to machines having rotary cutting anddislodging heads especially adapted to cut and dislodge mineral from lowseams by swinging one or more cutter heads sidewise to produce `levelroof and Hoor surfaces Without auxiliary core-breaking mechanisms.

The present invention pro-vides a series' of coaxial rotary cuttersarranged to swing about an offset pivotal axis in such a manner that thecutters traverse the whole area of a roof or iloor surface, therebyeliminating the necessity for auxiliary reciprocating or core breakingdevices to sweep the roof or oor surfaces level.

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a cuttinghead for a mining machine in' which the cutter bits travel in a pathoblique to the path of the head in order to cut and dislodge materialfrom a surface extending between a pair of adjacent bits.

A further object is to provide a mining machine havi I ing a rotarycutter head movable' in an arcuate'p'ath and having cutter bits movablein orbits which are oblique to the path of the head, the combinedorbital and arcuate movement advancing the bits across an areaito cut ashall arcuateY path taken bylnon-rotating cutter elements in `m'ovingacross awsurface;

Figure'Z'is a'schernatic representation, similar to vFigure l, showingthe path of'contact between a rotaryV cutter element and a surface;

Figure 2a is a'schem'atic representation,` in elevation view, of arotating cutterin contact with a surface, taken along the' line 20L-,2aof Figure 2;v

Figure 3 isa schematic representation,- in` plan view, o-f thecombined-paths of contact of thel swinginghead -of Figure land therotary cutter of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a schematic representatior'r,` inl section; of a surfaceVcut by a swinging head havingcutters rotating on `anoffset axis;takeu"along the line v4---4'of FigurefS;

Figure 5 is a plan view of a mining and loadingtm'achine having` -a pair-of swing'ab'le'rninin'g heads withi rotayfcut ting anddislodging drumsrotatable'about'an offset` axisj Figure 6' is a section viewftaken'alongthe linev 6*-16 of Figure 5 showing details ofthe gathering andconveyingy meansA of the machine shown' in Figure 5;

Figure`7 is` a side elevationview ofthe machine shown in Figure 5; v

Figure 8 is a schematic repres'exitationA of anl alternate bit and helixarrangement for a'cutte'r drum; andN 5 Figure 9 is aschematicrepresentation comparable to Figure 4`showing a surface cut bythe bit arrangement of Figure 8.

Referringnow more particularly to the drawings, the numerals 10 and 11refer to cutting and dislodging drums having aiseries of cutter bitpositions 12 located thereon. Cutter drums 10 and 11 are swingable aboutpivotal axes 13 and 14 to traverse an area of a working place in a mineseam. As shown in vFigure l, the bit positions 12 move through arcs 16and 17 circumscribed respectively about axes 13 and 14. As shown inFigures 2 and 2a, thev cutter drums 10 and 11 are rotatable about axes18 and 19 so that each bit position 12 rotates in a circular orbit 21.Where a bit has cut into a surface as shown in Figure 2a, segment 22 isdefined in the bit circle 21'. This segment 22 appears as a straightline when viewed from above asin Figure 2.

Referring now to Figure 3, there is shownl a schematic representationo-f av partial' surface pattern produced byr the combined rotating andpivoting motion of cutter drum 11, where the bit positions 12re'volvevab'out axis 19 which is offset fro-m the pivotal axis 14. Forconvenience, the segment 22 has been shown in 6 successive positions onthe surface which correspond to successive rotations of the cutter drum11. As the bits moving in bit circles 21 cut successive paths in thesurface,.a trough is produced having its lowest point along the line 17which is the locus of the lowest points reached by the bits. Thetroughs'cut by bits in a pair of` adjacent positions willintersectfe'ach other in a ridge which followsV an arcuate pathcircumscribed about the pivotal axis 14. In practice, the arcuate ridgeisv an irregular line, having been produced by the cutting anddislodgingactio-n of the'bits, however, for purposes of clarity, a median ridgeline 23 is -shown asa smooth curve in Figure 3. i

The cumulative effect of a series of cutter bits rotating about an axisof rotation while the whole series is'be'ing swung about a' pivotalaxis'offset from the axis of rotation is to produce a scalloped surfacepattern oriented in arcs of circles drawn about ther pivotal axis.Figure 4 shows a prole of such a surface. Where thel bit positions 12are spaced axially along the cutter drum 11 in even increments such as bin Figure 3, the' height of the ridges between successive troughsdecreases in a direction' toward the pivotal axis 14. Further, as showninFiguresfSfand 9, where the pitch of the bit spacing increases inadirection toward the pivotal axis, the ridges increase inl height "andthe troughs become wider. A bit spacingcan be selected which willprovide equal heightridges as shown in Figure 9. Such a bit spacing isillustrated in Figure 8 where,` for example, the dimension b may beequal to 213/16 inches and b-l-c equal to 2195.6 and b-l-Zc equal to31A@ and so forth. In such an arrangement, it is also convenient toprovide a helical web o-f increasing pitch which willV move a greatervolume of material as the material accumulates along its axis. Where theabove illustratedr bit spacingV is employed, the helix pitch can beincreased as for example 12, 14 and 16 inches to provide a mounting basefor the bits while still lmaintaining the bits at even angular spacings.In other cases vit would be desirable to have u11- even angular bitspacings, in which voase it would not be necessary to correlate thepitch of the bits with the pitch of the helix. Obviously other bitspacings could be selected which would produce other modifications ofthe scalloped surface pattern.vv

Referring now to Figures 5, 6 and 7, the numeral 30 designates a miningand loading machine constructed in accordance with the foregoingprinciples. The machine is built on a mobile frame 31 which is movableabout a mine seam by means of tractor treads 32. Tractor treads 32 maybe driven in various well known' ways such as a hydraulic motor 33 andgear reducer 34. A conveyor 36 is mounted midwayk of the frameterminating in an overhanging rear end portion for discharge into ashuttle car, conveyor or other haulage device. The front end of conveyor36 terminates in throat 38 which directs broken and dislodged materialonto the conveyor. A pair of feeder scrolls 39 and 41 are arranged oneither side of throat 38 to urge dislodged material into the throat in asteady stream.

Power for driving the tractor treads, conveyors, scrolls and auxiliarydevices can be provided by an electric motor driving one or morehydraulic pumps located, for example, under the conveyor 36. A housing42 is provided to enclose resistors, circuit breakers, contactors, etc.,necessary for the operation of electric motors.

A pair of mining heads 43 and 44 are pivotally mounted on booms aboutupright axes 13 and 14 on frame 31. The pivotal mountings for the boomsand mining heads comprise posts 46 and 47 which project upwardly fromthe frame `31, and outer telescoping sleeves 48 and 49 on the respectiveheads 43 and 44 and concentric with the respective posts 46 and 47.Sleeves 48 and 49 may be in the form of closed end hollow cylinderswhich cooperate with the respective posts to form piston and cylinderdevices for elevating heads 43 and 44. A pair of jacks 51 and 52 areconnected between frame 31 and the respective heads 43 and 44 for theapplication of power to swing the heads about their respective uprightaxes 13 and 14. One

end of jack 51 is pivotally connected to frame 31 by means of ahorizontal pin 53 to allow for vertical adjustment of the other end ofjack 51 which is connected to head 43. The connection between jack 51and head 43 is made by means of a universal coupling member 54 which hasa horizontal pin 56 connected to jack 51 and a vertical pin 57 connectedto heads 43 and 44.

Heads 43 and 44 are similar to each other, having similar parts arrangedin right and left hand assemblies. The description of head 43 will applyalso to head 44. Head 43 comprises a base member 58 which isstructurally united with a stiflening web 59 and sleeve 48 to form arigid boom structure on which a head motor 61 is mounted. A flangemounted speed reducer 62 is drivingly connected to and supported bymotor 61 and in turn is drivingly connected to and supports cutter drum10, the motor 61 and reducer 62 providing power means for rotatingcutter drum 10. Cutter drum 10 is arranged to revolve about asubstantially horizontal rotational axis 18 which is offset from uprightpivotal axis 13. The cutter drum 10 includes a helical or spiral web orspiral blade 64 wrapped about the axis of rotation 18, and providing aspiral conveyor for moving dislodged material toward the scroll 39 andconveyor throat 38. A plurality of bits 63 are mounted on the web orblade 64 in several axially spaced apart bit positions. As hereinbeforedescribed, the axial spacing of bits 63 determine the shape of thepattern cut in a lateral surface such as the oor or Vroof of the seam.Where an uninterrupted helical web is used as a mounting surface for thebits 63, the pitch of the axial bit positions can be varied in anydesired amount by arcuate displacement along the helicoid. As previouslypointed out, the pitch of the bit spacing can be increased in adirection toward the throat to produce a more uniform surface patternand the pitch of the helicoid can be increased in the same direction toprovide a conveying means of increasing capacity as more materialaccumulates on the way to the conveyor throat. The bits may also bemounted on spokes or discontinuous helical sheets with good effect. Theforward end of cutter drum 10 has a group of forwardly projecting bits66 which are effective to cut clearance in the face of a mineral seamfor insertion of the cutter drum 10. A shield 67 extends along the backside of cutter drum 10 to confine broken and dislodged material withinthe reach of helical web 64 for movement toward conveyor throat 38.

In operation, heads 43 and 44 are opened'up to a position where theirouter extremities extend full width of the working place in the seam.Cutter drums 10 and 11 are drivingly rotated and the whole machine isurged forwardly to sump the cutter drums into the face of the seam.Cutter bits 66 cut initial clearance for the insertion of cutter drum 10into the face of the seam. When cutter drum 10 has penetrated the seam asufficient amount, heads 43 and 44 are urged toward each other inarcuate paths to cut and dislodge the material of the seam in a sidecutting operation. The principle of this side cutting operation, bywhich the side cutting bits 63 traverse the whole area of the workingplace to cut a scalloped fioor and roof surface, has been set forthearlier in this application.

While the invention has been described in terms of a preferredembodiment, various changes and modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in theappended claims.

I claim:

l. For use in a mining and loading machine, a cutting and dislodgingmember comprising a body rotatable about an axis having a plurality ofcutter bits mounted thereon with an axial spacing which progressivelyincreases toward one end of the body.

2. For use in a mining and loading machine, a cutting and dislodgingmember comprising a body rotatable about an axis having spiral blademeans wrapped about said axis, and a plurality of cutter bits mounted onsaid blade means with an axial spacing which progressively increasestoward one end of the body.

3. The structure according to claim 2 in which the spiral blade meanscomprises a multithread spiral conveyor, each thread having a pluralityof cutter bits mounted thereon with an axial spacing which progressivelyincreases toward one end, the cutter bits on one thread being in axialalignment with corresponding cutter bits on an adjacent thread.

4. For use in a mining and loading machine, a cutting and dislodgingmember comprising a body rotatable about an axis having a spiral bladewound about said axis in a plurality of axially spaced wraps, thespacing between succeeding wraps progressively increasing in an axialdirection toward one end of said body; and a plurality of cutter bitsmounted on said blade with an axial spacing which progressivelyincreases toward one end of the body.

5. In a mining and loading machine, a mining apparatus comprising a boomswingable about a pivotal axis at one end thereof; a cutting anddislodging member mounted at the other end of said boom for rotationabout an axis of rotation, said member having one end portion closer tosaid pivotal axis than its other end portion; and a plurality of cutterbits mounted on said cutting and dislodging member with an axial spacingwhich progressively increases toward said one end portion, said axis ofrotation and said pivotal axis being disposed at right angles to eachother in spaced parallel planes.

6. In a mining and loading machine, a mining apparatus comprising a boomswingable about a pivotal axis at one end thereof; a cutting anddislodging member mounted on the other end of said boom for rotationabout an axis of rotation, said member having one end portion closer tosaid pivotal axis than its other end portion; said member includingblade means wrapped about said axis of rotation extending toward saidone end; and a plurality of cutter bits mounted on said blade means withan axial spacing which progressively increases toward said one endportion, said axis of rotation and said pivotal axis being disposed atright angles to each other in spaced parallel planes.

7. In a mining and loading machine; a portable frame; a boom mounted onsaid frame for horizontal swinging movement about an upright pivotalaxis; a rotary cutting and dislodging member, having front and rearportions, mounted on said boom and being rotatableA about a generallyhorizontal rotational axisintersecting said frontand rear portions;saidupright pivotal axis disposed behind said cutting and dislodgingmember and being offset from said rotational axis; and a plurality ofcutter bits mounted on said cutting and dislodging member and disposedalong said rotational axis with any axial spacing which progressivelyincreases toward said pivotal axis.

' 8. In a mining and loading machine; a portable frame;

ya forwardly extending booml mounted at its rear end on sa1d frame forhorizontal swinging movement about` an upright pivotal axis;` a rotaryvcutting and dislodging member mounted; on ,said, boomtiwith aft-rearportion thereof ,closer to. said uprightpivotal',` axis .thanva frontportion.V thereof, said cutting: andtvdislodging member being rotatableabout a generallyhorizontaltrotational axisintersecting saidjfront andrear portions; `said up,-` right pivotal axis beinggoifset from saidrotational axis behind said cutting and dislodging member; a pluralityof cutter bits mounted .on `said cutting-and dislodging member anddisposed along said rotational axis with an axial spacing whichprogressively increasesfin a rearward direction; power means forswinging said boom sidewise about said.` upright pivotal. axis;tandpower means for rotating said .cuttingand dislodging member aboutits rotational axis to drive all of said bits in circular paths forcutting and deiiningV agenerally horizontal surface in a minerseam asthe boom is swung from side to side.

9; In a mining and loadingmachine; a portable frame; a forwardlyextending boommounted at its rear end on said frame for horizontalswinging. movement about an upright pivotal axis; a cutter drum mountedon said boom with a rear portion thereof closer t'o saidupright pivotalaxis than a front portion thereof, said cutter drum being rotatableabout a generally horizontal rotational axis and having a spiral bladeextending from a front to a rear portion thereof wound about saidrotational axis; said upright pivotal axis being offset from saidrotational axis behind said cutter drum; a plurality of cutter bitsmounted on said spiral blade and spaced along said rotational axis withan axial spacing which progressively increases in a rearward direction;power means for swinging said boom sidewise about said upright pivotalaxis; and power means for rotating said cutter drum about its rotationalaxis to drive said bits in circular paths for cutting and defining agenerally horizontal surface in a mine seam as the boo-m is swung fromside to side.

l0. In a mining and loading machine; a portable frame; a pair offorwardly extending booms mounted for horizontal swinging movement aboutspaced upright pivotal axes disposed on said frame; a conveyor on saidframe between said pivotal axes having a throat near the front end ofsaid frame; a cutter drum mounted on each boom for rotation about agenerally horizontal rotational axis; each drum having front and rearportions spaced along and intersected by its respective rotational axisand having a spiral blade wound about said rotational axis extendingbetween said front and rear portions; each cutter drum being disposedwith its rotational axis laterally offset from its respective pivotalaxis toward said conveyor and each rear portion of each cutter drumbeing in proximity to said conveyor throat for receiving materialdislodged by said cutter drum in all positions of swinging movement ofits respective boom; a plurality of cutter bits mounted on each of saidcutter drums and disposed along said drum with an axial spacing whichincreases in a rearward direction; power means for swinging each boomsidewise about its upright pivotal axis; and power means for rotatingeach of said cutter drums about its rotational axis to drive all of Saidbits in circular paths to cut and define a generally horizontal surfacein a mine seam as the booms are swung relative to each other.

11. In a mining and loading machine, a mobile frame,

ay conveyor extending along said frame and havinggare'e sidesof saidconveyorin advance thereof, meansforY mounting vsaid mining heads onsaid frame for pivotal movement Iabout upright axes including a separateboom for each mining head pivotally mountedon said frame outside of saidconveyor and rearwardly of said receiving throat, each mining headincludingva cutter drum ro' tatable` about a generally horizontalaxis-and having a plurality'of projecting cutter bits axially spacedalong its periphery and supported wholly in advance of said throat,`individual power means connected with each forswingingigsaid booms fromlaterally extended positionsv with respect tof said conveyorfinwardlytoward each other during rotation offsaid'cutter drums,v the axisofrotation. of; ,each-cutter dr-urn` being, latera'lly,.loifset from theupright axissof lateral swinging movement of said ,boom andmining'head,v andrbeing angularly offset withrespect: to a center lineintersecting the upright axis ,of-lateral `swinging movement ofsaid boomand the transverse center ofsaid cutter drum along theaxis of-rrotation4thereof-at an Vangle o f substantially lessthan andmai-ntainingthgelcutting patterns of the individual cutter bits to cutclearance `for eachl other during angular feeding movement 'of saidcutter drums 'across the. front of Asaid-frame toward each other. y

l2. In a mining machine 'of the class described, al mo-` bile frame, aside cutting mining head extending in advanceof said frame and mountedon said-frame for rotation about a laterally swingablel generallyhorizontal axis, said 'mininghead including a rotatable drum havingaxial-ly and circumferentially spaced bits projecting from the-surfacethereof, powermeans for rotatably; driving said drum, a rigid boompivotally mounted on said frame for movement about an upright axis andforming a laterally swingable support for said mining head and extendingrearwardly of said drum, power means for swinging said boom and mininghead laterally, to feed said drum across a working face, said drum beingretained from reciprocating movement along its axis during rotationthereof and said upright axis of said boom and drum being spaced asubstantial distance rearwardly of said drum, the axis of rotation ofsaid drum being offset angularly with respect to a line intersectingsaid upright axis at an angle of 90 and intersecting the axis ofrotation of said drum between the ends of said drum at an angle of lessthan 90 to position said drum at an oblique angle with respect to saidline.

13. In a mining machine of the class described, a mobile frame, a sidecutting mining head extending in advance of said frame and mounted onsaid frame for rotation about a laterally swingable generally horizontalaxis, said mining head including a rotatable drum having axially andcircumferentially spaced bits projecting from the surface thereof, powermeans for rotatably driving said drum, a rigid boom pivotally mounted onsaid frame for movement about an upright axis and forminga laterallyswingable support for said mining head and extending rearwardly of saiddrum, power means for swinging said boom and mining head laterally, tofeed said drum across a working face, said drum being retained fromreciprocating movement along its axis during rotation thereof and saidupright axis of said boom and drum being spaced a substantial distancerearwardly of said drum, said drum being oriented with its axis ofrotation angularly offset at an angle of substantially more than 0 andsubstantially less than 90 relative to any plane which includes saidupright` axis and which intersects the axis of rotation of said drumwithin the limits of said drum, to position said drum at an obliqueangle with respect to said plane, so that the kerfs made by adjacentcutter bits are'of sutiicient width to lap one another withoutoverlapping substantially more than adjacent kerfs. j 1 V 1 14; In amining and loading machine, a mobile frame, a conveyor having areceiving throat on the forward end portion of said frame, a pair ofmining heads disposed in side-by-side relationship forwardly of theconveyor throat and including forwardly projecting cutter drums mountedfor rotation about generally horizontal axes, an individual boom foreach mining head and cutter-drum mounted on said frame for movementabout an upright pivotal axis and mounting said mining heads and cutterdrums on said frame for movement toward and from each other, each cutterdrum being retained from reciprocatf ing movement along its axis ofrotation during operation thereof and having a plurality of cutter bitsaxially spaced along its periphery, each cutter drum having front andrear portions spaced along and intersected by its respective rotationalaxis, power means for swinging said booms inwardly during rotation ofsaid cutter drums to effect the cutting of a series of kerfs in thefloor by said cutter bits and to sweep the cuttings in front of theconveyor throat, each cutter drum being oriented with its axis ofrotation angularly offset at an angle of less than 90 relative to anyplane which includes said upright axis and which intersects the axis ofrotation of said drum within the limits of said drum to `position thecutting paths of the individual cutter bits in a diagonal directionacross the kerfs produced by the cutter bits in the oor.

15. In a mining and loading machine, a mobile frame, a conveyor having areceiving throat on the forward end portion of said frame, a pair ofmining heads disposed in side-by-side relationship forwardly of theconveyor throat and including forwardly projecting cutter drums mountedfor rotation about horizontal axes, an individual boom for each mininghead and cutter drum, said booms being mounted on said frame onoppositesides of said conveyor`for pivotal movement about upright pivotal axesspaced a substantial distance rearwardly of the associated cutter drumand mounting said mining heads and cutter drums on said 4frame formovementtoward and from each other, each cutter drum having a pluralityof cutter bits'axially spaced along its periphery, and having front andrear portions spaced along and intersected by its respective rotational'axis, power means for swinging said booms inwardly during rotation ofsaid cutter drums to effect the cutting of a series of kerfs in the oorby said cutter bits to sweep the cuttings in front of the conveyorthroat, the axis of rotation of each cutter drum being olset angularlyfrom the upright axis of lateral swinging movement of said boom andmining head with respect to a line intersecting said upright axis at anangle of 90 and intersecting the axis of rotation of said drum betweenthe ends of said drum at an angle of substantially more than 0 andsubstantially less than 90, to position adjacent cutter bits to cutkerfs of sucient width to lap one anotherwithout overlappingsubstantially more than adjacent kerfs.

.References Cited in the file of this patent France Apr. l, 1930

